Daughters
by IrishDipstick
Summary: Jethro's goddaughter pays a visit. Taylor is not impressed. Warning may contain spanking.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of it's characters.

**Chapter 1**

Peace had reigned in the Gibbs household for almost two weeks now. The new security system had been installed, much to Taylor's consternation. I mean she had no intention of sneaking out after the last time, but that wasn't the point, this way she had absolutely no control over what she could and couldn't do. That sucked. Still, it was kinda nice not being in trouble for a change.

It was Friday night and Taylor was happily curled up beside her dad, watching the end of a movie. Friday night was her favourite time of the week, during school anyway. Patricia was on the other side of her father, but she didn't mind, she had sorta got used to her being around. Tomorrow the three of them were going bowling, it was going to be a good weekend.

The end credits had just started to roll, when the phone rang. Lifting the phone from it's cradle Taylor passed it straight over to her dad. He listened for a few seconds, then stood up and left the room to take the call. Only mildly interested in his conversation, she reached for the remote and shuffled along the couch to lean against Patricia. If Patricia was surprised, she didn't show it, she just lifted her arm and put it around Taylor pulling her closer.

The phone call was a long one and by the time Gibbs returned Taylor was asleep, and so was Patricia. He stared at the pair of them not quite believing what he was seeing. He watched them for a few minutes before reluctantly waking them up. Sending Taylor up to bed he dropped back down on sofa beside Patricia.

"Bad news?" she asked

"Haven't decided yet." We're gonna have a house guest for a couple of weeks. My goddaughter Megan, she's the same age as Taylor. I haven't seen her since the christening."

"So what's bad about that?

"I dunno, just a gut feelin'"

"I'm sure it'll be fine, besides Taylor will love the company."

"Speaking of Taylor, what did you do to her tonight?"

"I have absolutely no idea."

Taylor woke early the next morning, probably as a result of the noise coming from the guest room next to hers. Going to investigate, she stopped in the doorway of the other room and watched as her dad vacuumed the floor around the newly made up bed.

"Who's comin'?"

He hit the power button, "Megan. I'm her godfather, just like Tony's yours."

Taylor didn't say anything, just stared at him, she'd never heard of this Megan before, and wasn't quite sure she liked the idea.

"What?" he asked when he saw the look on her face. "You'll like her, she's the same age as you, besides, it's only for a fortnight."

Taylor shrugged before turning to leave the room, she wanted to be on her own to process this new information.

"You'd better get dressed, and grab something to eat, we have to pick her up at the airport in an hour." he called after her. The only response he got was the slamming of Taylor's door. Sighing he wrapped the power cord around the vacuum and carried it downstairs. Nothing was ever simple around here.

Standing beside her dad Taylor watched as the passengers from the flight streamed past them. Megan appeared last, walking beside an airhostess. Taylor hung back as her dad went over to introduce himself, watching as the girl smiled sweetly and shook his hand. Gibbs only noticed she wasn't beside him when he turned to introduce her. He gave her one of those 'get over here looks'. Taylor rolled her eyes before reluctantly going to meet the girl. The two of them couldn't have looked more different. Megan was a good head taller than Taylor, immaculately dressed in a matching skirt and blazer, blonde hair carefully tied back. In sharp contrast was Taylor's unruly short auburn mess she rarely brushed, faded jeans and well worn t-shirt. Taylor kept her hands firmly in her pockets when Megan reached out to shake her hand. Only backing down when she received a sharp nudge from her father. Megan ignored the slight, chatting happily to Gibbs as they walked out to the car. Taylor followed a few steps behind, glaring at both. Her dislike of the girl only increased when she took Taylor's normal seat in the car up front, leaving her in the back. As they drove off, Gibbs glanced at Taylor in the rear view mirror easily recognising the mutinous expression. His gut feeling was right. It was going to be a long two weeks.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of it's characters.

**Chapter 2**

When they arrived back at the house Taylor tried to make herself scarce, heading straight up to her room and closing the door firmly behind her. She was just in the process of crawling under her bed to retrieve her ipod when she felt a tap on her foot.

"Hey."

It made her jump, bumping her head on the underside of the bed. Reversing out, ipod in hand Taylor stood up, rubbed her head and glared angrily at her father."

"What'd you do that for?"

"Keep that attitude up and you know what'll happen." he warned

"Sorry." She sat down on the bed and tried to untangle her headphone cable.

"Why are you hiding up here?"

"I'm not."

He sat down beside her. "You don't like Megan?"

Taylor shrugged.

"You don't have to like her, just be civil. You haven't said a word to her yet."

"Got nothin' to say."

Gibbs sighed. "You can't ignore her for the next two weeks."

Sounds like a plan to me, Taylor thought, but said nothing.

"Why don't you go show Megan her room, and help her unpack."

"Do I have to?" She already knew the answer, but she thought she'd give it a go anyway.

"Yep. Go on, she's sitting down there all on her own."

Megan was gazing out the living room window, when Taylor went to find her.

"I gotta show you your room." she said, making it perfectly clear she wasn't happy.

Megan turned round, not looking any happier than Taylor.

"Better be a good little girl then and do what your daddy says."

Taylor was trying very, very hard to keep a hold on her temper.

"You comin' or not?" she didn't wait to see if Megan was following, just walked up the stairs and into the spare room.

As soon as Megan had finished unpacking, Taylor disappeared into her own room again. She wasn't alone for long however, Megan breezed in through the door as if she owned the place.

"What do you want?" Taylor asked angrily as she scrambled to her feet.

"Just thought I'd check out your room. Bit of a mess isn't it?"

"So?"

Megan walked further into the room, stopping just in front of her.

"You sure you're eleven? You only look about nine, must be because you're so short."

Taylor shoved her causing Megan to take a few unsteady steps backwards.

"I'm still tall enough to kick your ass!" her fists were clenched tightly now at her sides.

"Ooooooh, temper too, must be the red hair!" she taunted.

Before Taylor had a chance to take a swing her dad appeared in the doorway.

"You two ready to hit the bowling alley, we'll grab something to eat there."

Megan was the first to speak. "Sounds like fun, doesn't it Taylor?"

Still too angry to reply, she stalked past both of them and out to the car.

Her dad had been giving her dirty looks all through lunch, but she was too angry to care. Megan on the other hand was perfectly behaved, instantly impressing Patricia, with her fake smiles and polite conversation. By the time they had reached the lanes, Taylor was seething and bowling was the last thing she wanted to do. Seizing the opportunity to slip away while the others were choosing their bowling balls Taylor headed to the arcade section. She chose a machine near the back, before dropping in a coin and tried to lose herself in the game. Her third game had just ended when her father's reflection appeared on the black screen. He turned her round to face him and she backed up against the machine. Placing a hand on either side of her, he lent down before speaking.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"I don't wanna bowl."

"So you think it's okay to just to take off on your own, without a word to anyone?"

"But you're only over there." she pointed in the general direction of the lanes.

"You're skating on really thin ice right now. If you don't want to join in you can sit and watch." Straightening up he nodded towards the door. Sticking her hands in her pockets Taylor walked slowly back out to the main bowling area closely followed by her dad. Megan grinned as she saw them approach. "Your turn Taylor."

Giving her a look that should of melted her, like the wicked witch in the Wizard of Oz, Taylor sat down and watched the bowlers in the adjoining lane.

The ride home wasn't much better and by dinner time Gibbs was ready to throttle his daughter. Megan was now visibly upset by Taylor's attitude, and he was grateful that Patricia was trying to keep her distracted. When Megan yelled and bent down to rub her leg it was the last straw. Grabbing Taylor by the arm, he pulled her away from the table and up to her room.

"I didn't touch her!" she protested as he spun her sideways and landed three stinging swats to the seat of her jeans.

"No music, no games, no phone. Just go to bed Taylor." He strode out of her room slamming the door behind him.

Taylor got changed and slipped under the quilt. She pulled the cover over her head and curled up in the fetal position before she allowed herself to cry.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of it's characters.

**Chapter 3**

Taylor was awake before five thirty the next morning, guess that's what going to bed at seven will do. Still angry and hurt, she dressed and went downstairs to get something to eat before anyone else woke up. If had been possible to leave the house without the alarm going off she'd have been out of there in an instant. As it was, her only option if she wanted to avoid Megan and her dad, was to return to her room after she'd eaten, and hope they would forget that she was there.

By seven thirty she could hear both her father and Megan moving about downstairs. Boredom was starting to kick in, but she was afraid if she went to join them Megan would only land her in trouble again. Either that or she'd push her too far and make her do something stupid. There was nothing else for it, she would just have to make a start on her homework.

It was another hour before Gibbs came up to check on her. If he was surprised that she was sprawled out on the bed surrounded by books, he didn't mention it.

"Thought you were still sleeping." He moved some of the books over and sat down beside her.

Taylor just kept writing, eyes on the page. She didn't want to look at him in case she started to cry.

"I know you and Megan didn't exactly hit it off yesterday, but avoiding her isn't going to help." He waited for a response, but got none. "If you want to spend your Sunday, stuck up here, doing your homework that's fine."

Taylor shrugged.

Realising he wasn't getting anywhere, he stood up and had one last try. "I have to nip out for bread and milk, you wanna come along for the ride?"

Shaking her head, Taylor heard the door close as he left the room.

Once she heard the car start up Taylor pushed her books to one side and put her headphones on. She lay on her stomach, eyes tightly closed and her head buried in her arms trying to think. The way she saw it she had two choices. Either kill Megan, which, although it would be extremely satisfying, it would also be impractical. Or find some way to avoid her completely for another thirteen days. Taylor didn't notice her door open, and the first she knew she wasn't alone was when Megan punched her hard on her back. Grunting in pain Taylor tried to roll away from her but Megan jumped on top of her, preventing her from getting up. Wriggling desperately Taylor couldn't avoid the onslaught of blows, each one hard enough to take her breath away.

Eventually Megan climbed off and watched as Taylor tried to sit up.

"That's for shoving me yesterday. Your dad want's to take us to see a movie this afternoon, but that's not gonna happen if you kick up a fuss. When he asks, you're gonna say yes. Understand?"

Taylor nodded afraid Megan would start again.

"Good, if you don't you know what'll happen!" spinning round she left and went into her own room.

Taylor slowly swung her legs off the side of the bed, but her back was so painful she couldn't straighten up properly. Moving as fast as she could, she made a beeline for her bathroom, reaching the toilet just in time to throw up.

Sitting on the tiled floor Taylor waited for the aching pain in her back to ease up. It was a good few minutes before she could even try and stand. Making her way back over to the bed she carefully lowered herself down onto her side, curling into a tight ball, praying her dad would come back before Megan decided to pay her another visit.

Taylor must have fallen asleep, because the next thing she knew her dad was calling her down for lunch. She stretched out cautiously, and was relieved she could at least move now. Megan and her dad were already at the table, so she sat down making sure she didn't lean back. Glaring at Megan she reached for her sandwich.

"So what do you two want to do this afternoon?" Her father asked, looking from one to the other.

Ignoring the warning looks she was getting from across the table Taylor answered.

"Gotta finish my homework."

"How about a movie? There should be a paper around here somewhere, I'll check what's on."

Before Taylor could say no, he left the table and went to search for the listings. The instant he was out of sight, Megan stood up and leaned across the table. "I told you I want to go to the movies!"

Taylor stood up and looked straight at her. "Well I don't!" Before Megan could say anything else Taylor stalked out of the room and back upstairs. This time she placed her waste paper basket behind her door, at least she'd have some warning the next time Megan tried to sneak up on her.

It wasn't Megan though who burst through the door a few minutes later, sending the basket flying. Her father looked furious as he glared down at her. "What did you do that for?"

Taylor looked at him confused. "Do what?"

He pulled her up off the bed and swatted her backside half a dozen times. "Stop playing games, I know you threw your drink round her!"

She spotted Megan standing in the doorway, looking smug, her clothes wet.

"I did not!" She protested, but all she got for her effort to explain was another set of swats to match the first.

"You can just stay up here until you're willing to behave. I'm not going to let you get away with bullying Megan just because you can't get your own way."

Taylor rubbed her butt and watched Megan disappear from the doorway, just as her dad turned to leave. When the door was closed she replaced the waste paper basket before curling up on the bed again. Not bothering to wipe away the tears that were starting to run down her face, she put her thumb in her mouth. She'd never felt so alone.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of it's characters.

**Chapter 4**

Both girls were dropped off at school on Monday morning. Gibbs watched the pair as they made their way towards the main building. He was beginning to get seriously worried about Taylor who was becoming more and more withdrawn. She had barely said a word all weekend, preferring instead to sit on her own in her room. Okay, he'd had to punish her a few times, but with Taylor, once that was done, she usually returned to her normal self pretty quickly. He'd never seen her so down, but when he tried to talk to her last night she had just turned away from him and said nothing. At first he had thought she was just jealous of Megan, but now he wasn't so sure. He was going to have to have a word with Duck.

Taylor watched as Megan was introduced to the class before she was allocated her old desk at the back. Not caring, as long as she wasn't anywhere near her, Taylor lifted her backpack onto the desk to find her homework. It wasn't there. She checked again, definitely not there. There was no point looking round at Megan, she already knew the smug expression she would be wearing.

As the class was leaving at the end of the day Patricia asked Taylor to stay behind.

"What happened to your homework?"

Taylor just shrugged and walked away, ignoring Patricia's calls for her to come back.

Megan was waiting for her at the end of the corridor.

"Awww, did you forget your homework?"

Not taking the bait Taylor walked straight past her and out through the door. Not happy with her reaction, Megan caught up with her and landed two punches to her already bruised back. Before she had time to react to the unexpected blows, she spotted Tony waving at her from his car. Her dad must have sent him because it was raining so hard. She watched as Megan claimed the front passenger seat and introduced herself. Opening the rear door of the car Taylor threw her bag in, but didn't get in herself.

"I'm gonna walk."

Tony looked at her as if she was crazy. "But you're going to get soaked, come on, get in!"

Slamming the door shut, she sped off before he had time to say anything else.

He watched her take off down a side street, before starting the car. Gibbs was not going to be happy.

Gibbs and Ducky were standing at the railing overlooking the bullpen when Taylor trudged in looking like a drowned rat. They stood and watched as Taylor tried hard to avoid Megan, but no matter where Taylor went, Megan followed. Standing in silence they watched the two girls for a good fifteen minutes, until Ducky spoke,

"I don't think she's jealous Jethro, watch the way Taylor flinches any time Megan goes near her." They both looked on as Taylor tried yet again to distance herself from the other girl, then noticeably tense when Megan approached her.

"Shit" Jethro spat out as the pieces fell into place. "She's not jealous, she's scared!"

Ducky looked round, but Gibbs was already halfway down the stairs.

When Taylor saw her father striding towards her she stood up and backed away, afraid he was going to kick off about walking back. Megan smirked anticipating more trouble for Taylor. As he got closer he saw a flash of fear in her eyes and immediately slowed down, realising he was the cause. Stopping beside her he ran his hand through her wet hair.

"Kinda wet aren't you?"

Taylor looked down at her clothes.

"Why don't we go see if Abby has anything you could put on." He held out his hand, and his heart nearly broke when she didn't take it, he knew she didn't trust him anymore. Taylor walked past him towards the stairs. Not looking at Megan in case he lost his temper, he followed his daughter down to the lab.

Gibbs ushered Abby through to her office, while Taylor sat on one of the lab stools, and explained what was going on. He had absolutely no idea what he was going to do, and he didn't want to screw it up any more than he already had.

"Can you keep her down here until I have a word with Ducky?"

Abby nodded as she searched for something that would fit Taylor.

"Just make sure you keep her away from Megan."

As Gibbs disappeared into the elevator, Abby stood up clutching a black t-shirt, complete with skull and crossbones. She excitedly carried it over to Taylor, holding it up against her to see if it would fit.

"I know it's gonna be big on you, but it is dry, and it'll look cool. Try it on."

Abby's enthusiasm was hard to ignore so Taylor slid off the stool and took it off her before going into the office to change.

Turning away from the door she peeled off her damp shirt and hung it over the back of a chair to dry, before reaching for Abby's goth one. Taylor started to lower the dry t-shirt down when Abby happened to glance in her direction. Staring at Taylor's back in horror, she lifted the phone.

"Ducky, is Gibbs with you?" Abby watched as Taylor came back into the lab, looking very small in the 'Abby' sized shirt.

"He needs to get up here, you too Ducky."


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of it's characters.

**Chapter 5**

Less than a minute later, Gibbs entered the lab closely followed by Ducky. Abby nodded towards the office and walked in after them, sliding the door closed.

"Have you seen the state of her back?" She yelled.

They all turned and looked at Taylor who was trying to look at something down a microscope.

"What do you mean Abby?" Gibbs knew Abby didn't get angry very often so there must be a pretty good reason why she was worked up.

"Take a look."

He slid the door open again, and called his daughter over.

"What'd I do?" she asked nervously as he dropped to one knee in front of her.

"It's all right, you haven't done anything." He said softly, "I just want to see your back." Gently turning her round he lifted her t-shirt up. Ducky gasped behind him.

For a moment he was unable to say anything, just stared at the mass of angry purple bruises covering her back. Lowering the t-shirt, he turned her around again.

"Who hit you?"

Taylor just looked at him, before taking a step back.

"You're not in trouble." He paused, waiting for this to sink in. "Was it Megan?"

Giving a single nod she dropped her gaze to the floor.

"Look at me Taylor." He waited while her eyes slowly met his. "I'm not going to let her hurt you again. I promise."

"Abby, why don't you come and help me down in autopsy for a while."

"But…" Abby started to protest, but hooking his arm in hers Ducky escorted her out of the lab. "I'm sure Jethro will bring Taylor down shortly, and we'll make sure she's ok."

Gibbs nodded at Ducky before turning his attention back to his daughter.

"You didn't kick her did you?"

"No." it was only a whisper.

"Or throw your drink round her?"

"No."

"Is that why you didn't tell me that Megan was hurting you? You didn't think I'd believe you?"

Her only response was a shrug.

When he thought about how he had reacted, he couldn't blame her for thinking that way. He didn't know what to say to make it right, or if anything would.

"I should have given you the chance to explain. I'm sorry."

Taylor looked at him in surprise, she hardly ever heard him apologise.

Her expression made him grin, and he reached up and tousled her hair. "What? I can make mistakes too you know."

She smiled back, as both of them relaxed a little.

"Ducky's waiting for us, wants to check you're ok. You up for that?"

"Is it gonna hurt?"

He stood up and guided her towards the elevator. "No, but he'll probably talk your ears off."

Taylor sat on one of the high metal autopsy tables, feet swinging while Ducky checked out her back. Her eyes darted eagerly around the coldly sterile room, checking out the strange looking equipment. Normally this area was off limits to her, so she was making the most of her unexpected visit. Ducky finally gave her the all clear, though he hadn't been happy when she told him she'd thrown up, and she slipped the skull and crossbones t-shirt back on. Abby was still hovering around. She was starting to pace, but suddenly stopped in front of Taylor.

"Why didn't you show anyone the bruises?"

They all stopped and waited for her to answer.

Taylor looked at her as if she'd asked something really dumb, before trying to look over her shoulder. "Didn't know they were there, how am I supposed to see them?"

"Don't you ever look in a mirror?"

Taylor shook her head and started to climb down off the table. She didn't see the warning glare her dad aimed at Abby, as he stepped over and lifted her down.

"I've got a few phone calls to make." he looked at Taylor "You okay to stay with Abby?"

"Sure." Turning to Abby she asked "Can I fingerprint something?"

Abby rolled her eyes, imagining her pristine lab covered in fingerprint dust. "Alright."

Gibbs watched the two of them leave.

"What are you going to do?"

"First thing I'm going to do is phone her father. I want her on a flight out of here as soon as possible. I'll email the photos you took, let him see just what his daughter is capable of."

Ducky nodded in agreement, that child needs some serious help.

"Then when we get home I'm going to let Megan know exactly what I think of her behaviour."

When Gibbs didn't say anything for a few moments, Ducky put a hand on his shoulder. "Taylor's pretty resilient. Before you know it she'll be back to her normal self again, running rings round you and everyone else."

"I hope so. Thanks Duck." With that he left, not looking forward to the call he was going to make.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of it's characters.**

**Chapter 6**

Gibbs was livid by the time he hung up. Megan's father confessed that she had a history of bullying, but only after he opened the email with the photograph of Taylor's injuries. A heated argument had followed after this revelation. Gibbs tore strips off him for putting Taylor in danger, before explaining in no uncertain terms that he was going to deal with Megan, then put her on the first plane home. He sat in the small cubby hole of an office he had chosen for privacy trying to calm down. He didn't want to let Megan realise he knew what had been going on, the last thing he wanted was for Megan to fly off the handle when Taylor was around. Taking a few deep breaths he returned to the bullpen, praying that he had enough self control to avoid killing the girl on sight.

Abby and Taylor travelled up from the lab in the elevator. Taylor was still a little quiet, although she had spent the past hour content enough with a finger print brush and powder, the evidence of her activities clearly visible by the smudges of powder on her cheek and fingers. When they turned into the bullpen Taylor froze. Her dad was sitting at his desk, Megan standing close behind him. Megan looked over at her and smirked, lowering her hand onto his shoulder for extra effect. Her dad didn't react to this gesture and her sure as hell didn't look angry with her. Taylor felt a wave of despair wash over her. Her dad didn't believe her, he believed Megan. He'd lied to her. Abby looked down just in time to see the anguish on her face, and instinctively followed Taylor's line of sight. It only took a few seconds for Abby to realise what Taylor had been thinking, but it was a few seconds too late. When she went to reassure her, Taylor was gone.

Abby didn't know what to do first, find Taylor or get Gibbs, so she did both. She ran towards the stairs and yelled for Gibbs. They made it to the main door, but according to the security guard Taylor had sped past him like a bat out of hell. They looked up and down the street but there was no sign of her.

Taylor kept running until her lungs started to burn, and she couldn't see through her tears. Stopping she wiped her eyes with the backs of her hands, before trying to get her bearings. She hadn't been running to anywhere in particular, just away from the feelings of betrayal and rejection, but they were still with her, producing an ache that far outweighed that of her bruised back. Still she knew she had to go somewhere, anywhere but back to her father and Megan. Still crying Taylor headed towards the woods, to the hut, hoping she could hide from the rest of the world.

Gibbs was frantic, Taylor had been missing for almost an hour now. After Abby explained what had happened, he'd sent her back to the house just in case she showed up there. Tim had tried to trace her using the GPS on her cell, but it wasn't switched on. Tony, Ziva and Tim were out scouring the streets now, just like him, but so far they'd come up with nothing. He was angry with himself, no it was more than that.. Taylor thought he'd let her down again, and it was his fault. If only he'd explained what was going on. This thought was pushed out of his head as he realised how dark it was becoming and panic took over. He was well aware of the dangers of the cold, and Taylor wasn't wearing much. Fighting back unfamiliar tears, he slammed his hands hard onto the steering wheel before turning the car and trying another street.

It was starting to get dark when Taylor closed the door of the hut behind her, and cold. Wearing no coat, Abby's t-shirt provided little insulation, so she pulled her arms out of the sleeves and wrapped them around herself. Curling up in the corner, she tried to make herself as small as possible, if she could, she'd have made herself disappear.

Taylor tried to forget, but every time she closed her eyes she could see Megan happily standing beside her dad. As she became colder though, and her shivering became more violent, Taylor became less aware of where she was or why. Not fighting the black void that enveloped her mind, she slipped into unconsciousness.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of it's characters.

**Chapter 7**

As Tony sat in his car he still had no idea what was going on. All he knew was they had to find Taylor. God only knew what she had done this time, he looking forward to finding out, she was always surprising him. He was just thinking about some of her past exploits when he remembered finding her in the woods. It was worth a go he thought, and it wasn't far from where he was now. He phoned Gibbs to let him know where he was going before following up on his hunch.

Megan was the only one who seemed to be having a good time. Patricia had arrived to pick her up shortly after the team had left to begin their search. By the looks of it Taylor had really landed herself in it this time, without any help from herself. Although she would have liked to see what happened when Gibbs finally caught up with his daughter, she was enjoying the one to one attention from Patricia. It was not something she was used to at home.

Tony parked the car, and rooted through the trunk for a torch. It was dark now, and he hoped he would be able to find the hut again. As he made his way through the trees, he tried to push thoughts of The Blair Witch Project from his mind, he was jumpy enough as it was. Finally he stumbled on the right trail, and found the hut. He opened the door and scanned the inside with his torch, the powerful beam easily lighting up the small room. Taylor was lying in a corner, but she didn't react when beam of light passed over her face. Dropping to his knees he shook her gently and called her name trying to wake her. Taylor just groaned and tried to push him away, although her arms were still trapped under her t-shirt before curling up again. Pulling his jacket off he wrapped it round her before picking her up. He could feel her shivering as he carried her back through the trees towards the car. Unclipping his phone from his belt he hit speed dial. It was answered after the first ring.

"Got her Gibbs, but she's really cold and I can't wake her up." He'd reached the car now and lowered Taylor into the back seat, making sure she was still wrapped up in his jacket.

"Just get her to the hospital, I'll meet you there." He could hear the worry in his boss's voice.

"On my way." Hanging up, he cranked up the heat and hit the gas.

By the time Gibbs made it across town to the emergency room, Tony was waiting outside one of the cubicles where they were trying to bring her temperature up.

"She in there?" he asked nodding towards the cubicle. "Thanks Tony, you don't have to stick around."

"Yeah but…" Tony didn't get a chance to finish, Gibbs was already through the curtain.

Taylor was starting to come round, although she was disorientated and confused. Slipping his hand under the blankets he wrapped his hand round hers and waited.

Gibbs sat there for a long time, watching his daughter and holding her hand. He was supposed to look out for her and keep her safe. This was the second time he'd failed. He wanted the old Taylor back. The hot headed, fearless and stubborn one, who had a natural talent for landing herself in trouble. The one who had never been afraid of him, and trusted him unquestionably, no matter how much trouble she was in. He'd never forgive himself if he couldn't make things right between them again.

He watched as Taylor began moving, then when she realised he was there, she stilled again.

"There's no point pretending, I know you're awake."

Taylor opened her eyes and took in the unfamiliar surroundings. "How'd I get here?"

"Tony."

"Oh."

"Are you mad at me?"

"No. You're mad at me."

"I am?" Her head was still a little fuzzy.

"Abby told me why you ran."

Now she remembered. Sitting up Taylor turned away from him, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed. Spotting her clothes neatly folded on a chair, she grabbed her jeans and pulled them on.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Taylor ignored the question as she slipped the hospital gown off and Abby's t-shirt on. When she popped her head through the neck, her dad was standing right in front of her with his arms crossed.

"I asked you a question."

Glaring up at him while she pulled a sneaker on without untying the laces, she replied "I'm goin' to Tony's."

Lifting her onto the bed, he pulled her shoe back off again. "You're not going anywhere yet." There was no way he was gonna let her run from him again.

Eyeing the shoe angrily, she decided against trying to get it back, opting instead to lie down again, curling up with her back to him. The image of him with Megan, now flashing through her mind, brought fresh tears. Brushing them away angrily, she closed her eyes tightly, and listened to her dad's footsteps as they moved back round the bed again.

Running a hand over his daughter's head he asked softly, "when have I ever lied to you?"

Taylor thought for a moment. Then for another one. She couldn't think of an example. Except for yesterday. Opening her eyes she looked at her dad. "You said you believed me."

"I do."

Sitting up, Taylor drew her knees up in front of her and wrapped her arms round them.

"No you don't, I saw you with Megan!"

"I know what it must have looked like." Ignoring the glare, she aimed at him, Gibbs continued. "I just didn't want to confront her at NCIS. I thought it would be better waiting until we got home."

Scowling, she didn't want to admit she had been wrong, "how do I know you're not lying?"

'I've already arranged a flight for Megan, she's leaving tomorrow afternoon." Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a sheet of paper and handed to her. "That's the booking conformation. Check the date and time."

As Taylor read through the document carefully, she realised she had been a complete idiot. Folding the paper she gave him a guilty glance before handing it back.

"Sorry." Taylor rested her chin on her knees.

Sitting down on the bed beside her, he put his arm around her shoulders.

"After what Megan put you through, I can't really blame you for running. I should of explained what was going on."

"Megan is really going?"

"Uh huh." He pulled her closer. "Megan's not gonna hurt you again."

Taylor stayed silent as she digested what she'd been told.

"If you're worried about something, you can always come to me. If you don't want to do that, there's always Tony, Abby or even Patricia. It's not good if you bottle things up."

Feeling her nod, he stood up and looked at her. "Now, if I go and fill in the release form, will you still be here when I get back?"

"Can I come with you?"

He answered by giving her the sneakers to put on.

As they walked along the corridor towards the main desk Gibbs felt a small hand slip into his own. He looked down at Taylor, life was never dull with her around. He was going to make sure no one hurt her again, and God help anyone who tried.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of it's characters.

**Chapter 8**

It was almost morning by the time Gibbs and Taylor made it back home. When the door banged shut behind them, it woke Abby up, where she had fallen asleep on the couch.

"Taylor!" Jumping up Abby wrapped her arms around her.

Gibbs rescued his daughter from Abby and pointed her towards the stairs. "Go take a bath, then bed."

"But it's nearly time to get up!" She protested, spinning back round.

A look from her father was all it took to convince her to do as she was told, and she stomped up the stairs, mumbling to herself as she went.

One very fast bath later, a pyjama clad Taylor reappeared downstairs. Squeezing between Abby and her dad who were sitting drinking coffee, she asked "where's Megan?"

Gibbs set his mug down on the coffee table, and put his arm around Taylor. "Megan's with Patricia, she's dropping her off later. Thought I told you to go to bed?"

"Not tired."

Standing, he scooped her up, lifted her over his shoulder and carried her up the stairs. "You're still going to bed."

"Aww, come on, I could be traumatised or something"

"I'll traumatise you!" he warned as he set her down on her bed, then started to tickle her.

"Okay, okay I'll go to bed!" She managed to get out through her giggles.

"Come on, lie down." He pulled the quilt up over her. "Now stay there, you need to sleep." Bending down he kissed the top of her head, before standing up to leave.

"Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you leave the door open?"

"Sure, now close your eyes."

Taylor was asleep before her father lifted his coffee again.

Megan showed up with Patricia at around eight. Abby had just left, and Taylor was still asleep upstairs. Not giving her the opportunity to head upstairs, he pointed into the living room. "Sit."

Patricia made a quick exit, Jethro had explained everything a few hours earlier when he'd called her, and she didn't exactly want to stick around for the fireworks.

He was standing in front of her now, not quite sure where to start.

"Where's Taylor?" Megan asked, "and why aren't we going to school?"

"Taylor's in bed, and you're here because it's time we had a little talk."

"About what?"

"About the way you've been treating my daughter."

"Don't know what you're talking about." Megan stood up.

"SIT DOWN!" he roared.

Lowering herself back down, she looked bored, not worried.

"What the hell were you thinking, when you thought it would be okay to hurt Taylor?"

Still not flustered, Megan just looked at him, pausing before she answered, "Never touched her, she's lying!"

Gibbs watched her carefully. He knew she was lying, but her face or body language weren't giving anything away. When Taylor lied, he knew almost immediately. She had so many 'tells' that she had little chance of ever getting away with it. This girl however was almost impossible to read.

Pulling her up, he pushed her towards a corner, swatting her butt as she moved. "Don't lie to me!"

She spun round, covering her ass. "You can't hit me! I wanna phone my dad."

Turning her round again he put her nose in the corner. Leaning down he whispered in her ear. "I already did that. In fact we had a very interesting conversation about your behaviour. He's just as eager as I am to get to the bottom of this, but you can worry about his reaction when you get home tonight. This morning you're all mine."

He waited while she processed what he had said. "Fifteen minutes, then we'll try this again."

Watching from the comfort of the couch he made sure Megan didn't move. When her time was up he took a hold of her arm and delivered her back to where she had been sitting before.

Taking out his phone, he found the photo of Taylor's back and held it in front of Megan.

"Do you think it's acceptable to leave someone with bruises like this?"

Megan glanced at the picture. Swallowing hard she looked up at her furious godfather. "You think I did that?"

"No, I know you did that! I also know you've been getting Taylor into trouble since you arrived, why?"

She glared at him, but didn't answer.

I'm going to ask you one more time, and if you still don't want to explain your actions, we're gonna go straight to consequences.

"You can't punish me!"

"Yeah I can, and you can think yourself lucky I don't report you to the police. If your father hadn't agreed to get you some help you'd be sitting in the station right now." Pausing he gave her the chance to respond. "Why?"

"Go **** yourself!" Megan spat out as she stood up and bolted for the door.

Megan only made it about half way before she found herself lifted off her feet. Kicking and punching, Gibbs carried her into the kitchen, and bent her over the table with one hand, while he unbuckled his belt with the other. Realising what was going to happen next Megan stopped kicking and focused all her energy in an effort to push herself up from the table. Not a chance.

"Let me up!" she screamed, temper in full flow.

"I gave you a chance to talk" he explained a fraction of a second before the belt impacted with her ass.

SMACK

Megan hissed.

"Now it's your turn to listen." He lifted her skirt up and tucked it into the waist, before bringing the belt down again.

SMACK

"OWW!"

"You will never, ever touch Taylor again!" Megan started to cry and renewed her effort to escape.

SMACK

"OWW""

"Do you understand me?"

SMACK

"Y….es"

"You won't try and get her into trouble."

SMACK

"I wo….nt!"

"You're gonna stop being such a bully,"

SMACK

OWW, ok …ok!"

"and you're going to apologise to Taylor."

SMACK

"I ..will."

Megan began to cry harder as he brought the belt down again and again, and by the twelfth lick she was sobbing hard.

Stopping there, her godfather lowered her skirt and waited for her to stand up. Megan winced as she straightened , and watched as he threaded his belt back through the loops. Sniffing hard, she waited for him to tell her what to do. A little surprised she wasn't looking for any comfort after she had been spanked, he put his arm around her shoulder, leading her upstairs to her room.

"Your flight leaves in a few hours, you need to get packed, and you don't leave this room until I say you can. Understand?"

Nodding, Megan turned away and waited for him to leave.

Closing the door of Megan's room he went in to check on Taylor. She was still asleep. Not wanting to leave her alone with Megan so close, he sat down gently on the bed listening carefully to the noises coming from the guest room next door.

By lunchtime Taylor was awake, dressed, and making herself a sandwich in the kitchen while her dad went up to fetch Megan. When they appeared in the kitchen a few minutes later Taylor eyed Megan warily, but said nothing.

"If you want something to eat, you've got fifteen minutes before we leave."

Taylor didn't take her eyes off Megan as she bit into her extremely messy sandwich, not caring as coleslaw and mayo dripped out from between the bread. Megan, took one look at the hard chairs, then lifted an apple from a bowl on the counter, before heading back into the living room.

Gibbs followed her. "You still have an apology to make."

Taking a bite of the apple she nodded, but stayed where she was.

"I'm going to get your bags, behave yourself." Nodding again she watched as he took the stairs two at a time.

He was still upstairs when Taylor wandered into the living room. Megan stood looking out the window, but turned when she heard someone behind her. Both tried to stare the other out, but turned, when they heard Gibbs drop the bags at the door.

"Megan, don't you have something you want to say to Taylor?"

Reluctantly Megan turned towards Taylor. "I'm sorry I hurt you, and got you into trouble."

Taylor was not fooled. She knew Megan didn't mean a word of it. "I'm sorry too."

Both Megan and Gibbs looked at her in surprise. Megan spoke first. "For what?"

Grinning, Taylor answered, "For this!" She drew her arm back as far as it would go, then brought it forward again, slamming her fist right into Megan's face, knocking the girl to the floor.

Taylor looked round as her dad grabbed her by the arm to stop her having another go. "It's ok, I'm done."

Releasing his daughter he helped Megan up from the floor. She was trying to rub her eye and her butt at the same time. Moving her hand away from her eye he examined her face. Other than the shiner she was going to have the next day she'd be fine. Eager to avoid any more conflict he escorted Megan out to the car, making sure she took a seat in the back. He loaded her bags into the trunk, before going to find Taylor.

He found her sitting at the table in the kitchen. "What did you do that for?" he asked, exasperated. She didn't look the least bit worried, in fact the expression on her face could almost be described as smug.

"I owed her that, besides, you can't punish me for it."

"I can't? Why not?" Now he was confused.

"You spanked me twice for things I didn't do. Figure that cancels it out."

Leaning down, he looked straight into her eyes. He must be going soft, but he just wanted this whole thing to be over. "I'll give you that one, but we're even now. Got it?"

"Got it." Taylor smiled.

"Now get yourself out to the car, you don't want Megan to miss her flight do you?"

Gibbs grinned as Taylor shook her head, and almost ran to the front door. Sighing, as he started the car he decided being a godfather wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

End


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